Direct Hit! is my current favorite band. They write very catchy and explosive songs. Is "explosive" even a good way to describe music? Of course. When a band is as awesome as Direct Hit! is, your eardrums explode. Figuratively, of course. Calling Direct Hit! pop punk does not do them justice at all, as it is only the broadest way to describe the music. Yes, it's super catchy punk, but it's much more than that. Direct Hit!'s music is what I sometimes refer to as an "eargasm" if that helps you understand just how great it is.
Brief history of the band:
Direct Hit! put out 5 EPs over the course of 2008 to 2010, giving them away for free on the internet, but also giving the option to pay. It has said that each EP released was almost like a comic book. In 2010 they also released a split with the band Mixtapes (interestingly enough, that split was missing on my top albums of the year list despite it being wonderful). In late 2010, they decided they were going to record a full length album. So they compiled every song on their EPs alongside some live tracks and threw together a cassette tape compilation to sell to raise money to help record. When those sold out, they also started a campaign to help raise money to mix the full length, giving away a digital copy of the compilation plus a bunch of other stuff (including shirts and stickers). They are (as of this writing) recording their full length album, which will be composed of newly recorded versions of songs on their EPs, as many of the songs, especially earlier ones, have gone under drastic changes and are played differently. Maybe a new song or two as well, that information has not been released to my knowledge.
I guess that's not a very brief history lesson. My bad. For the intents and purposes of my actual review, I'm going to break down the tracks based on their original appearance. They pretty much appear in the same order anyway, so it works out.
Direct Hit! - #1
This is where it begins. The songs are recorded in a lo-fi-ish manner but don't let that makes you think they sound like the Mountain Goats* or anything.
Lyrically, Nick Woods explores the want to get out and become something greater. Best evidenced in track one, "How, When and Why" where the chorus consists of "Come on baby girl, do you wanna take the world over with me?" Clearly he's aiming high on this track and he only takes it further from here.
The next three tracks continue this adventure of escaping toward freedom ("We Are Alone"), being on the run (“Buy Me a Drink”) and getting revenge on the wrong-doers (“Kingdom Come”). It is very possible that the entire EP is a concept of the unnamed protagonist and someone else (perhaps it is Baby Girl?) escaping from their everyday lives. Remember that comic book comparison? Yeah. All of a sudden the bomb on the EP cover makes a little more sense.
Musically, the songs utilize the bare basics in terms of instrumentals: no flashy lead lines or solos, just guitar, bass, drums and keys. That's not to say that the music is boring; not at all. Tracks 1 and 3 are a little more relaxed, while tracks 2 and 4 are faster paced, which reflects the lyrical tones. “How, When and Why” is the initial contemplation of escape, while “Buy Me a Drink” is the point in the story where the protagonist and Baby Girl are thinking about their next move and in both songs there is more palm muting to keep the energy contained. “We Are Alone” is the actual escape and “Kingdom Come” is the part of the story in which the enemy is blown up and the music is much more intense and less restrained.
All-in-all, this EP is the start of something wonderful. Hopefully if any of these songs are re-recorded for the full-length, they are put into the context of a new story. Or all of them are re-recorded and fit into a much larger story with the rest of the tracks.
*no disrespect meant toward Mr. Darnielle, I’m just saying they don't sound the same.
Direct Hit! - #2
This EP wastes no time at all in getting in your face. From the first track running through all 8 and a half minutes to the final number, the only time you get to rest while listening to it is the brief silence between songs.
“Boredom Addict” starts off with a relatively slow (compared to the rest of the EP so it’s not really slow) intro and turns into the “woah-oh” heavy ode to sitting around doing nothing and still turning that nothingness into a song. Generally when people write a song about doing nothing while blazed, you get something like Sublime, but even Direct Hit! manages to make being bored into something exciting.
The best way to describe “I Wanna Know” is “frantic.” Think early-Bomb the Music Industry! but with a full band playing in time with each other.
“Living Dead” marks where the EP begins to really shine. It’s got it all: chants of “heys,” palm-muted verses and a “we don’t give a fuck” attitude. No, really. It’s in the chorus:
“We don't give a fuck about your ethics, who you are, where you come from or all the other shit you've done. We don't care at all about obsessions, your confessions, we don't care about the office you have run”
It’s also most likely about being a zombie. Gotta get into this things before they’re overplayed.
“Arson Hero” is the highlight of the EP. The lyrics are comparable to those found on #1; being stuck in a rut of everyday life and changing things up by blowing up a building. It is also noteworthy to mention that each line in the song (save for the bridge) has a number that counts up in numerical order, ending with 27 by the end.
Direct Hit!’s second EP has a higher production value than their first. Every single track is also packed with relentless energy and never letting up. That said, it is not as cohesive as a release as the rest of their discography. Even then though, it is not a bad EP at all and an essential part to the Direct Hit! collection.
Direct Hit! - #3
“FUCK YOU! GET PUMPED!”
That’s the greeting that listeners get while listening to Direct Hit!’s third EP. It is also the first appearance (hearing? Whatever the aural equivalent of an appearance is) of what is now a Direct Hit! staple: as it has become somewhat of a “slogan” for the band.
Nick Woods’ lyrics take the best of the previous two EPs and mixes them well. On “Failed Invasion” he continues to use imagery of war and blowing shit up while blending it with the mundane aspects of life, this time the hardships of feeling like your band is going nowhere.
“Mom & Dad” is one of the best songs ever. For real. The song is so awesome and loud that the recording actually suffers a bit because the equipment couldn’t handle it. Woods and the rest of the band take their anger out on the kids who always complain about their parents. Is the target someone in specific or something larger? The lyrics mention houses and checks, which draws me to the conclusion it is aimed toward someone specific.
“Hide the Body” and “They Came for Me” follow suit in the same fashion that make Direct Hit! so much fun to listen to. The former is a fast paced pop song about a house call while the latter is about a zombie attack. It may even be an allusion to the song “Living Dead” off their previous EP, telling the point of view from the other side of the story.
#3 is also the first (and as of this writing, only) Direct Hit! EP to feature a bonus 5th song. A early live version of “Choke” (which appears on #4) performed for a live radio appearance. Musically, it is reminiscent of “Blitzkrieg Bop” almost, while lyrically it reflects on how different one sees the world as a young adult.
Much like their first EP, the lyrics of #3 can tell a cohesive story (minus the bonus song). A frontman for a band begins to lose faith in his band ever becoming successful. When he sees another band making tons off of a tired subject, he takes his anger out on them. Cops show up, he tries to cover it up, but in the end gets taken away.
#3 marks a huge change for Direct Hit! while also keeping many of the same qualities that made their first two EPs so charming. They feel like a more complete band at this point. Sure, the music makes use of the 3-minute, 4-chord song as always, but when the songs are this good it doesn’t really make a difference.
Direct Hit! - #4
What is there to say about Direct Hit! that hasn’t been said already?
As the EPs progress the music gets tighter, the song writing is just as strong as ever and the first track even begins with a “FUCK YOU! GET PUMPED!”
The Direct Hit! formula hits it peak with this EP as the band has never sounded better than on this release. It starts off with “Snickers or Reese’s” which seems to be channeling the Arrogant Sons of Bitches at points, but still comes off as original. “Monster in the Closest” is on the sweeter side, but only in the sense that the music is more melodic than and not as aggressive as the song preceding it. A more complete version (I am hesitant to call it the “final” version) of “Choke” is still borrowing ever-so-slightly from the minimalist early-Ramones style and “In Orbit” relies on the gang-vocal approach that only Direct Hit! can present.
Lyrically the band delves into paranoia, nostalgia and still aiming high with their goals. Not that I really know what a schizophrenic actually feels like, but I would imagine that the band takes a step into that light, with their narrators often losing focus on reality. The protagonist of “Snickers or Reese’s” is afraid of someone breaking into his house and killing him. “Monster in the Closet” is kind of like Screeching Weasel’s “Don’t Turn Out the Lights” but much darker and from the point of view of someone who has no hope. “Choke” is the same as the demo, only expanded upon more including changing some of the lyrics into the first person plural.
“In Orbit” is the odd song out. The lyrics are an optimistic sci-fi adventure, living in peace in the post-Earth times (maybe Direct Hit! got tired of blowing up buildings and moved on to the entire planet instead). You also may be able to tell it’s my personal favorite, but I’ll try not to let any bias get in the way. It’s a very sweet song, probably the best in the band’s discography to put on a mix (oops, there goes that bias). But don’t fret- they aren’t going all “Ataris” on us yet and it still retains that eargasmic Direct Hit! sound.
The unfortunate part about this EP is that “Snickers or Reese’s,” “Monster in the Closet” and “In Orbit” are all such amazing songs that “Choke” kind of pales in comparison. That’s not to say it’s a bad song, but it just doesn’t reach the same level as the other three tracks. However, when the only negative thing to say about the EP is that one song is an 8 when the other three are a 10, you know that’s not a bad sign. As much as I love these songs, I hope they remain untouched when the full length drops. Pick this one up ASAP!
Direct Hit! - #5
I’m going to try and paint a picture for you to describe how I feel about Direct Hit!’s fifth EP. Say there’s this band or artist that you enjoy. It doesn’t matter the genre really, it’s just something that you really like. Now let’s say they have a few releases and you keep enjoying it. Then they release something that completely rocks your world. Like, really just blows you away so much that it just can’t get better. It becomes your favorite thing ever and you go and tell all your friends about how amazing it is. You listen to that collection of songs non-stop, never getting sick of it. Then the band comes out with a follow up to that masterpiece and it’s still a very good one, but it just doesn’t leave the same impression on you.
That’s how I can best sum up #5. Just like their other EPs, they keep taking everything they’ve done before and tweaking it ever-so-slightly so the sound continues to gradually evolve. There are more female vocals present in the mix, which is nice because it changes things up. The choruses are still catchy (especially “Captain Asshole”). The lyrics range from the grounded to the mystic. The guitars explore more territory with leads and octaves thrown in. The shouting of “FUCK YOU! GET PUMPED!” is done with more of a howl than a grunt. It’s all a nice step forward really.
I’m not saying that #5 is a letdown, because it isn’t. The only actual complaint is that the introduction to “Captain Asshole” sounds kind of like “Monster in the Closet” but even that’s not a huge problem because at least it sounds like one of their own songs. All four tracks sound wonderful and show the band making more and more progress. Even though it didn’t grab me in the same way that #4 did, it is still very much worth checking out.
Bonus live songs.
Taken (presumably) from the same set as the "Choke" demo, fans are treated to live cuts of "Failed Invasion" and "Hide the Body"(from #3), "Kingdom Come" (off of #1) and a cover of the Ramones classic "Rockaway Beach." They're all pulled off wonderfully and showcase the live talents of Direct Hit! at the time of recording (one can assume that it was sometime before the release of #3). However, since the band's line up has gone through some changes, it can be expected that the live dynamic has shifted since. I am interested in hearing what the band sounds like with the current line up and I can only hope they'll be playing near me sometime soon.
-----------
Wow. That only took forever. Maybe I should've done individual EPs at a time. If you think they sound interesting and want to check them out, #4 and #5 are available (for free download!) at Death to False Hope records. You can check them out here.
Thanks for reading?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment